


The Power of Love and…Football

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Family, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 17:30:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2436995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a probably a big decision on the horizon and Hotch for one would much rather focus on anything but that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Power of Love and…Football

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for [](http://mitfordgal.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://mitfordgal.livejournal.com/)**mitfordgal** ’s prompt of **“an unexpected pregnancy”**. I've written this kind of story at least twice and thought to myself, yeah, been there, done that. Then I was cooking and ***blammo*** I was slapped with another window to look through. That excited me. This story is told in a universe where the canon events of _100_ took place.

The Wolverines were looking good. They had this tendency, lately, to look really good in the beginning and then not follow through to their full potential. It pissed him off royally, even though watching them whoop the Fighting Irish’s ass was some kind of gratification. Michigan had just scored another touchdown and Hotch lay on his couch bopping his head to _More Than a Feeling_ , the school’s new touchdown song. Talk about some of the best guitar riffs in rock history…it hyped the FBI Agent up. Four minutes and forty three seconds to halftime and the score was fourteen to three.

Hotch loved college football. He never thought he would be able to say that, despite being Virginia born and bred. There were sports he enjoyed, back in the day he was the definition of March Madness. That was when he was younger and actually had time to watch sports. Suddenly he went from being involved in watching sports to reading the sports page to having so many other things occupying his mind that sports were a distant memory.

This was all Derek Morgan’s fault. Morgan was a football nut…he had been a player after all. When he joined the BAU many moons ago, he talked football all the time. Hotch would just nod and finally Morgan called him on it. Trapped, Hotch agreed to attend a few of his Saturday college football parties.

It never seemed to matter which teams were playing, people were there for the good time. There was always a good time at Derek’s place. It was there Hotch first saw Michigan play. He could admit to liking the blue and gold on their uniforms so he rooted for them. How that turned into being a fan he had no idea but he was. Morgan was truly impressed that all these years later, Hotch still bled blue and gold.

There had been many ups and downs in the program but he was no fair-weather fan. Win or lose, it was all about the blue and gold. This year they had the potential to go all the way and lying on his couch in his University of Michigan jersey, Aaron Hotchner felt he had something to do with it. He as much as the 35,000 fans crammed into the stadium to watch them play their rivals, Notre Dame.

This was a night game so Hotch was able to really relax and watch. Jack was spending the weekend with his Aunt Jessie; Hotch would pick him up tomorrow after dinner. He had a full weekend off from the BAU, Unit Chief’s orders, and he and Emily planned to spend every moment of it together. She was there now, sitting at the dining room table sending an email to her sister. She could care less about football, watched sometimes because that’s what you did when you loved someone but Hotch never pushed it on her. It was good in a relationship to have things you didn’t share with your significant other.

“Hotch? Hey, Hotch? Aaron!”

“Yeah, baby?”

“We need to talk about something.”

“Um…”

“Aaron?”

“Baby, halftime is in three minutes and eleven seconds.”

“Are you serious?” Emily asked.

“Actually, two minutes and forty three seconds. Notre Dame is trying to set it up for a field goal before the buzzer.”

“You are serious.”

Hotch didn’t answer, he was too engrossed in the television. He had gone from lying down to sitting up and leaning forward. If they made it, the score would be fourteen to six. That wasn’t bad…two touchdowns beat two field goals any day. Still, the Wolverines let things like this get them down and he didn’t want them going into that locker room feeling insecure. Insecure Wolverines were never a good thing. He’d watched insecure Wolverines lose big. So he crossed his fingers and held tight to his jersey as a sophomore kicker from a little town in Texas called Icarus tried for 42 yards. He made it, the little bastard made it.

“Damn!”

“What happened?” Emily asked, deciding to care. She came and sat next to him on the couch.

“Notre Dame made a field goal. The score is fourteen to six. He made it from 42 yards. Not a miracle or anything but still…damn. Texas breeds football players, I swear.”

“And Unsubs,” Emily mused.

“And really good food.” Hotch grinned. “What's up?”

“Do I have your attention now?”

“Absolutely.” Hotch looked at the television and saw a commercial for Coors Light. She most certainly did.

“For how long?”

“Start talking and find out.”

“Hotch!” She laughed, slapping his chest. “That’s not funny.”

“I'm listening, Emily. Talk to me.”

Emily took a deep breath and grabbed hold of his hand. Well, that wasn’t good. Hotch felt his stomach pitch. He didn’t like not knowing what was getting ready to happen. Things were good lately, even if they were bad. Haley was murdered four months ago and he and Jack were still in a process of mourning and recovery.

He was a full-time father, BAU Unit Chief, and most considered him a widower though he and his ex had been apart for over two years. That surely didn’t mean what happened to her didn’t hurt everyday. Even Hotch, who most assumed had it all together, was feeling a bit lost. He and Emily had been together practically since the day Haley walked out. It started slow, sped up, slowed down again, and then settled into something real.

She was fully prepared to be a parental figure to Jack, and had been doing so since before Haley died. They had done a good job of balancing personal and professional with few problems. Nothing was perfect but Hotch was happy with the life they were building together. What the team, and the outside world knew, Hotch wasn’t sure. Eventually at least some pieces of his personal life, their personal life, would become public knowledge.

Both he and Emily seemed content with the road they were on. That didn’t mean that change wasn’t in store. Living apart and being “casual” might not be the best thing for much longer. There was a probably a big decision on the horizon and Hotch for one would much rather focus on anything but that. With his hand firmly in Emily’s he knew the focus definitely shifted.

“Carrie Ortiz is pregnant.” She said.

“Carrie Ortiz? Why do I know that name?”

“The case in Denver; her parents were killed.”

“Yes, I remember. You grew quite fond of her.” Hotch said.

“I did. She’s pregnant, Hotch. We’ve kept in touch since she went to California to live with her Aunt and Uncle.”

“So she hasn’t been doing well?”

It didn’t surprise Hotch to know that Emily kept in touch with her even if he didn’t agree with the decision. Jason used to do the same thing and look where it got him. Hotch worked the case and when it was over, he moved onto the next case. While some things stayed with him or he left something behind, he couldn’t consciously do what they seemed to do. There was enough waiting for him at the next stop and enough weighing him down.

“On the contrary, she’s in the top ten percent of her class and has applied to 8 colleges. She’s really hoping for a full ride to Stanford. Her Aunt and Uncle are so proud of her. She’s still in therapy but is doing her best to not let the tragedy of what happened to her family define her. She just made a mistake…lots of kids do.”

“I…why are you telling me this?” Hotch asked.

“She’s going to put the baby up for adoption. Carrie is a very intelligent and empathetic girl; she knows it the best thing for her and her baby. That doesn’t make it hurt any less though. Still, if she can just be sure that her child is growing up with a loving family in a stable environment…”

“Emily?”

“She wants me to adopt the baby. I want to adopt the baby.”

“That’s improbable.” He replied.

“What's so improbable about it?” Emily asked.

“In your line of work, having an infant isn’t exactly feasible.”

“JJ has a child, why can't I? I love my work, you know that, but I want to be a mother too.”

“And you will be, just…I don’t think this is a good idea. You and Carrie are close, right? What if she changes her mind? What if she knocks on your door 15 years from now? Adoptions between people who are acquainted are wrought with problems. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Are you sure that’s all it is?”

“What else could it be?” Hotch asked, already knowing the answer.

“Hotch, this thing we have is um…you know I would never force anything on you. The last few months have been difficult but we’ve stuck by each other. I just, this is an opportunity for me and I don’t want to pass it by for something less than stable.”

“We are not less than stable.” His tone was firm. “Is that how you think of us?”

“If I choose to do this, are you going to stand by me? Are you going to be a father to this child?”

“Absolutely.” Hotch answered without hesitation. “I love you Emily, I will always stand by you. What's mine is yours and vice-versa. I think your decision to adopt is noble, I'm just unsure about this situation.”

“Carrie is…she needs me, Hotch. I want to do this.”

“I know you do, baby.” Hotch put his other hand on top of hers. He wasn’t sure about this but it wasn’t for any of the reasons Emily thought. Of course he could be wrong; he didn’t know anything about Carrie Ortiz. He did know how bad Emily wanted children. Still, it was hard enough to leave Jack behind every time he went out into the field and possibly put his life on the line.

The idea of doing it to another child and taking her mother out there as well didn’t seem responsible. Waiting until things were perfect to start a family usually meant it wasn’t going to happen…things were never perfect. He thought what they would do if Emily was pregnant. It wasn’t quite the same but often things like this didn’t have the luxury of being planned to the letter. “How far along is she?”

“Five months. We’ve been talking about it for about three weeks now. I've talked to my family about it and they think it’s a good idea. They want to help, which I really appreciate. I knew I had to tell you eventually, even though I worried about your reaction. I wouldn’t make a decision like that before discussing it with you. Whatever way it turns out, it will affect you and Jack.”

“I would feel much more comfortable if I could have a conversation with Carrie. I’d like to know her feelings, her intent, and where her head is. She’s a teenage girl in a very scary situation. I don’t want you getting your hopes up and getting hurt. And I don’t want this to negatively affect your relationship with her. I'm sure after what happened to her, the idea of giving her baby to strangers, even the ones with the best intentions, is quite traumatic.”

“It is.” Emily nodded. “We can set up a video conference, or I could get us tickets to Santa Barbara. How do you want to do it?”

“Video conference is just fine.” Hotch managed a smile. He took Emily’s face in his hands. “Can I just tell you, Em, I've gone over in my mind a few times how I might react when you came to me and said you were pregnant?”

“Oh really? How did it go?”

“Just thinking about it scared the hell out of me. Not because I don’t love you madly; not because we will, in theory, most likely be great parents. There are just so many factors that make this a huge challenge.”

“I don’t back down from challenges. I'm not going to be like my mother, Hotch. I'm not going to attempt to have it all while actually achieving so little of it. But I am going to have my happiness.”

“What's your happiness?” Hotch asked. He’d asked the question before, many times, and the answer was frequently different. That was probably normal.

“I want a family. I want all the trappings of it; some cats, toys on the floor, story time, box lunches…normal things. I don’t want to give up my job, even if I decide to limit it some. It’s not about having it all; it’s about all the pieces fitting together into a lovely puzzle. I don’t want to raise a child alone. I want you there with me, Aaron. I want Jack and my parents and our BAU family. We can do it together.”

“I want to believe that so much.” He held her hand to her lips.

“What's stopping you?” Emily asked.

“I've already tried and failed.”

“You have never failed me, Aaron Hotchner, not once. The past is the past; we are the present and the future. You think I don’t have fears?” She laughed. “I'm fuckin petrified, but I've been that way before and at least this time I know I'm not alone. I would rather try and fail with you than succeed alone.”

“I think that was supposed to sound more hopeful than it did.” Hotch replied.

“If you didn’t hear the hope in it, open your ears.”

“No, I think you should rephrase.”

“We are not going to fail…how about that?” Emily hugged him. She held tight to him and placed a gentle kiss on his shoulder. She didn’t want to do this without him; she loved him. She would but surely she didn’t want to. “Halftime is over.” She murmured.

“Yeah, I know.” He held her tighter. “Something important came up. I love you, Emily.”

“I love you, too. Just keep talking to me. If we do this, we have to do it 100%.”

He knew that for sure. As soon as possible he was going to talk to Carrie and her family. Then he would call his stepfather and Emily’s father too because Hotch was smart enough to know there were men out there smarter than him on the subject. When all of that was done he would go into the nightstand drawer and dust off the box he’d been keeping in there for too long. Emily’s pregnancy was not the only scenario Hotch had gone over repeatedly in his head. It was time; it was probably past time. If they were doing this, and they were doing it, they would do it all the way.

“You better get back to your game.” Emily stood from the couch. “I know I've violated a major girlfriend rule in interrupting you.”

“It was important.” Hotch reasoned.

“Yeah, it was, and we’ll talk more about it later. I promise. I'm going to make some calls.”

“Are you sure, baby?”

“Positive,” Emily leaned and kissed his mouth. “Thank you, Hotch.”

He nodded and lay back down on the couch. Though his eyes went back to the game, his mind ran in a thousand different directions. He knew it would calm down in a little while so he let it wander. When he woke that morning, Hotch never expected anything like this. A smile crossed his face when he thought about life still being able to surprise him in a good way. Most of that was due to Emily Prentiss. Hotch had been to hell and back since she came into his life but she never left his side. They deserved to have whatever version of it all that they saw fit.

Emily went into the bedroom and stared at her telephone. She wanted to call her sister and share the news. Her dreams were almost a reality. Never in a million years did she imagine that it would have all come about this way. Emily never expected this man, this child, this life, but it was amazing. It had rules, regulations, and restrictions but even with that it was still everything she wanted. Now she was sure that Hotch wanted it too. They would make it work; it had worked so far…securing the ties that bound them would only make it stronger.

***

  



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